David Ray Griffin has spent his life studying theology, working to reconcile the pervasive divide between science and religion, and, more recently, trying to uncover the truth about the possible complicity of the US government in the 9/11 attacks.

Growing up in a small town in Oregon, David Ray Griffin was an active participant in the Disciples of Christ Church which led to his decision to become a minister. After obtaining his master’s degree in counseling from the University of Oregon in 1963, Griffin went on to study philosophical theology and consequently attended the Claremont Graduate University in California, where, in 1968, he was awarded a PhD in the Philosophy of Religion and Theology.

At Claremont, Griffin became interested in process theology, in particular the ideas of Alfred North Whitehead, which he argues provide a sound basis for addressing contemporary social and ecological issues. In 1973, he, along with theologian John Cobb, established the Center for Process Studies at the Claremont School of Theology. He is a prolific writer and editor of books on spiritual and theological issues.

In addition to his theological and philosophical writings, Griffin focuses on political and social issues. He has stated that “the task of a theologian is to look at the world from what we would imagine the divine perspective, one that would care about the good of the whole and would love all the parts.”

In several books, the most well-known being The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11, Griffin examines in detail the inconsistencies, contradictions, and coincidences surrounding the New York and Pentagon attacks, concluding that the Bush Administration was complicit in the deadly events. If 9/11 “was brought about by forces within our own government,” Griffin says, “[and thus] is antithetical to the general good, it is the responsibility of a theologian and public intellectual to probe and explore the issue.”

“He comes to his controversial conclusions with lucidity and calm,” states Reyhan Harmanci of the San Francisco Chronicle. Catholic New Times critic Rosemary Radford Ruether notes that Griffin avoids “inflammatory rhetoric” and bases his opinion “not on any one conclusive piece of evidence, but the sheer accumulation of all of the data.”

Because of his work regarding 9/11, David Ray Griffin and the 9/11 Truth Movement were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008 and 2009. To support the nomination, Norwegian professors wrote: “David Ray Griffin and the 9/11 Truth Movement have presented convincing evidence showing that this ‘war elite’ carried out these attacks to establish a new enemy after the Cold War, and to start wars in line with their economic and political interests. We believe the most important contribution to peace in the 21st century is the disclosure of these elite political games and the removal of the false reasons for its aggressive wars. This Griffin and the 9/11 Truth Movement have done in an excellent way. If the attack on 11 September was a US ‘false flag operation’ to justify wars in the Middle East, the disclosure of that fact should be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. We therefore nominate David Ray Griffin and the 9/11 Truth Movement to share the Nobel Peace Prize for 2008.”

A courageous citizen, David Ray Griffin has dedicated his life to exploring the truth, in theology and philosophy and in society. “Most of my work” he explains, “is on issues that I think are of central importance in a worldview capable of sustaining a sense of the meaning and importance of life, and an ethical stance adequate to the needs of the present and future situation of the world.”